NFL Sidelines - Week 13

Scores and results from Sunday’s NFL action.

Pittsburgh Steelers 33, New England Patriots 10

FOXBOROUGH, Mass. (AP) - The Pittsburgh Steelers went into Foxborough and put on a defensive clinic against the defending AFC champion New England Patriots. The Steelers held the Pats to 267 total yards in a thorough 33-10 beating of New England. Ben Roethlisberger threw a pair of TD passes and
Jeff Reed kicked four field goals as the Steelers scored 30 unanswered points after falling behind 10-3 early. Pittsburgh’s stubborn defense forced New England quarterback Matt Cassel into fumbling twice. In 12 games this season, Pittsburgh has held all opponents to under 300 yards. The Steelers improved to 9-and-3, good for a game lead over Baltimore. Pittsburgh is an eye-popping 8-and-1 against AFC teams. The Pats did not lose any ground in the AFC East where the first-place New York Jets also lost.

Denver Broncos 34, New York Jets 17

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - The up-and-down Denver Broncos, who lost badly at home last weekend to Oakland, were up this week. The Broncos went into the Meadowlands and beat the red-hot New York Jets 34-17. That ends the Jets’ five-game winning streak. Jay Cutler had a big air day, completing 27-for-43 for 357 yards and two TDs. The 7-and-5 Broncos now own a three-game lead in the mediocre AFC West. Brett Favre had to play catch-up most of the day, throwing for 247 yards and one interception. The Jets have a one-game lead over New England and Miami with four games to play.

Atlanta Falcons 22, San Diego Chargers 16

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The Atlanta Falcons are very much alive in the playoff picture and remain one game back of Tampa Bay and Carolina in the NFC South by going on the road and beating San Diego 22-16. Rookie QB Matt Ryan tossed two TD passes. Michael Turner ran for 120 yards against his former team. The Chargers fell to 4-and-8 after losing for the fifth time in six games. The crowd at Qualcomm Stadium had mostly cleared out by the final gun, and those who remained booed Norv Turner’s club.

Kansas City Chiefs 20, Oakland Raiders 13

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) - Tyler Thigpen put together one effective drive for Kansas City and that was enough for the Chiefs to snap their seven-game losing streak by beating the Oakland Raiders 20-13 in a matchup between two of the NFL’s worst teams. The only touchdown in the first three quarters came on Maurice Leggett’s 67-yard fumble return on a botched fake field goal attempt by Oakland. Then Thigpen engineered a 91-yard drive that was capped by
Larry Johnson’s 2-yard tiebreaking touchdown run early in the fourth quarter. KC is 2-and-10 while Oakland fell to 3-and-9.

New York Giants 23, Washington Redskins 7

LANDOVER, Md. (AP) - The New York Giants have never been 11-and-1, until this season. The defending Super Bowl champions were able to tune out another Plaxico Burress distraction and dismantle the Washington Redskins 23-7. Eli Manning had his first 300-yard game of the season, completing 21-of-34 passes for 305 yards on a rainy day outside Washington, D.C. The Giants defense came up big as well, holding Clinton Portis to 22 yards rushing. The Giants hardly needed Burress, who was inactive for the game but caused a major league distraction with the news he accidentally shot himself in the thigh late Friday night in New York. The Giants have won seven straight, including six in a row against teams with winning records. They own a three-game lead over the second-place Dallas Cowboys with four to play. The 7-and-5 Redskins, who were held to two touchdowns against the Giants in two losses this year,
are fighting for their playoff life.

Carolina Panthers 35, Green Bay Packers 31

GREEN BAY, Wis. (AP) - The Carolina Panthers remained tied with Tampa Bay atop the NFC South after rallying for a stunning 35-31 win over Green Bay in wintry conditions at Lambeau Field. DeAngelo Williams’ fourth TD of the day was the winning score with 1:30 left. That was set up by a 45-yard kickoff return by Mark Jones and a 54-yard pass play from Jake Delhomme to Steve Smith that set up the Panthers on the Green Bay 1. Green Bay fell to 5-and-7 despite three TD passes by Aaron Rodgers.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23, New Orleans Saints 20

TAMPA, Fla. (AP) - Tampa Bay kept pace with the Panthers by beating New Orleans 23-20 on Matt Bryant’s 37-yard field goal with 1:55 left. Tampa Bay won despite just 119 yards passing from Jeff Garcia. Nonetheless, the Bucs improved to 9-and-3 overall and 6-and-1 since Garcia regained the starting QB job which he lost after a poor effort in Week One. The Bucs won with defense. They intercepted Drew Brees three times, including two in the closing minutes. The Saints are 6-and-6, in last place in the tough NFC South.

Miami Dolphins 16, St. Louis Rams 12

ST. LOUIS (AP) - In a defensive tussle, the Miami Dolphins stayed alive in the AFC East by holding the St. Louis Rams to four field goals in a 16-12 win. The game featured just one touchdown, a 3-yard run by Miami’s Ronnie Brown, that finished a 12-play, 91-yard drive. Miami is 7-and-5. The pitiful Rams fell to 2-and-10 and were hindered by three second-half interceptions by Marc Bulger.

Indianapolis Colts 10, Cleveland Browns 6

CLEVELAND (AP) - The Indianapolis Colts are 5-and-0 in November and 8-and-4 overall after an ugly-but-it-still-counts 10-6 win over Cleveland. They did it despite not having their offense score a touchdown for the first time since 2003. The only touchdown came on defense when Colts defensive end Robert Mathis scooped up Derek Anderson’s fumble and ran 39 yards in the fourth quarter. Cleveland fell to 4-and-8 after its fourth straight loss. Plus, the injury bug bit Cleveland again. Anderson, starting in place of the injured Brady Quinn, sprained a knee ligament in the final 2 minutes and is likely done for the season. Browns coach Romeo Crennel said Ken Dorsey will start next Sunday at Tennessee. Tight end Kellen Winslow also suffered an ankle injury for Cleveland.

Baltimore Ravens 34, Cincinnati Bengals 3

CINCINNATI (AP) - The Baltimore Ravens have improved to 8-and-4 with their sixth victory in seven outings, a convincing 34-3 win over hapless Cincinnati. Wide receiver Mark Clayton threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Derrick Mason and caught a 70-yard scoring toss from Joe Flacco. The Ravens racked up 451 total yards, including 280 passing. The Ravens defense reverted to its Super Bowl days, holding the Bengals to six first downs and 155 total yards.

San Francisco 49ers 10, Buffalo Bills 3

ORCHARD PARK, N.Y. (AP) - The San Francisco 49ers likely aren’t going to the playoffs this season. But they played the role of spoilers in beating Buffalo 10-3, a home loss for the Bills that severely hinders their playoff chances. Niners linebacker Patrick Willis had a huge game with 14 tackles and a forced fumble. Isaac Bruce caught his 90th career TD pass, a 12-yard reception for the only TD of the game. The 4-and-8 Niners won for the second time in three games for interim coach Mike Singletary. The 6-and-6 Bills lost for the fifth time in six games and looked nothing like the team that started the season 4-and-0.

Minnesota Vikings 34, Chicago Bears 14

MINNEAPOLIS (AP) - The Minnesota Vikings rallied with 17 unanswered points in the second quarter and beat Chicago 34-14 to take a one-game lead over the Bears in the NFC North race. Gus Frerotte and Bernard Berrian set a Vikings record and tied an NFL mark with a 99-yard touchdown pass late in the second quarter. Seconds earlier, the Vikes had taken over on their own 1-yard line after the Bears were stopped four straight times during the Sunday night game. Adrian Peterson ran for 131 yards and one score for Minnesota. The Vikes are 7-and-5 while the Bears dropped to 6-and-6.

(Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press.  All Rights Reserved.)